


Mythosverse

by visionaryScribe



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Percy Jackson Fusion, Angst and Humor, Beta Concept Art Amity Blight and Beta Concept Art Luz Noceda, Beta Concept Art Willow Park, Beta Siblings, Gen, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Inaccurate Ancient Greek Religion & Lore, Luz Memes To Cope With Danger, Luz Noceda Needs a Hug, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Percy Jackson Au No One Asked For
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:41:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27185335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/visionaryScribe/pseuds/visionaryScribe
Summary: Luz has the choice, after a certain book report, to go to “reality check” summer camp or go to a camp up in New York. After being expelled from or kicked out from four other schools before this in the last three years alone, she doesn't want to have to make her mother go through with finding somewhere that would accept her again. With this camp being year-round, Luz thinks it might be the thing that solves all her problems.
Relationships: Luz Noceda & Everybody
Comments: 4
Kudos: 24





	1. Stop. Get Some Help.

**Author's Note:**

> The Owl House and The Olympians crossover no one asked for but you will get anyway!
> 
> Short chapter to start us off here. Ease our way through this painbow creating boiling rainstorm, yeah?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updated: 2/17/21 - Grammar, spelling, etc.
> 
> Updated: 2/18/21 - Added some details

It was bound to happen eventually.

Luz wasn't going to dwell in denial about it. Having to switch schools four times in the past three years was tough on her mom as it was, but this time she had a legitimate reason for doing what she had done. It wasn't about telling fantasy from reality anymore. ‘ _ Fantasy from reality _ ’ was just the line her mom said to the unsuspecting principal because he couldn't see beyond the Glamour.

That was what Luz called it, anyway. Her mom never corrected her on it.

The Glamour which kept everyone from seeing the monsters and demons. The thing that also kept them safe from it. If you couldn't see them, if you didn't believe they were real, they couldn't hurt you.

Luz and her mom were two of the unlucky ones that could see and be seen by those beyond the Glamour. Unlucky enough to believe, and because of their belief they become prey.

The snakes and fireworks hadn't been for her book report. They had been to keep the creature currently stalking her at bay or to drive it off with whatever means necessary, if push came to shove.

Luz knew that one day it would all become too much, that she would have to leave so her mom wouldn't be killed by the things that wanted to eat her. Her mom knew it too, apparently, because she already had a location in mind. Someplace where those hunted by monsters would be safe. Martial art classes only really helped with bullies and getting away from the creatures. This place, according to what little her mom knew and had shared with her, would help her learn how to fight back.

It hurt to see her mother cry. It hurt down to her bones to know she wouldn't be able to come back home for a long time, maybe even never.

She was a miracle child, her mother had told her. A child of magic. Camila was unable to have children before Luz came along, so her existence alone was proof enough for her of magic. But all magic had a price and this was something they both had been paying for, for over a decade now. Monsters and demons alike, ones that could speak and ones that couldn't, had been trying to kill or eat Luz since she was born. Sometimes they got close, other times they vanished before they could lay a claw on her. It always left the little girl paranoid of another attack and looking over her shoulder for the next few days.

She knew she would need to leave to prevent her mother from becoming a victim but this wasn't fair! Luz was only fourteen and her mom was all she had! Why couldn't her mom come with her to this supposed safe place away from it all? Why did she have to go alone?!

Luz couldn’t argue. Her mom made the decision to send her away, with the guarantee of safety and a better future. They would see each other again soon, she’d said, and Luz prayed to whatever beings were listening that she would keep that promise.

The bus driver seemed kind enough. Despite his mostly-disguised inhuman lower half that was easy for Luz to decipher, and curled horns on either side of his head that screamed  _ monster _ , he was nice to her. He allowed her to set herself up in the very back row of seats. On her way to the furthest seat she noticed a couple faded stickers lining the trim of the bus’s metal roof just above the windows. Stickers of baseball gear, stylized grape clusters, two smiling flowers, cartoonish green fire, and a little hooting owl were the few she could identify. The jacket she had for the colder weather up north was used as a blanket while one of her two backpacks, the one with clothes and other necessities in it, was used as a pillow.

Luz had brought some books with her. She could read to pass the time on the trip to this mysterious promise land, but her sour mood and the bumpy ride had put her off of that. No Good Witch Azura was going to cheer her up right now. No amount of burying herself into a fantasy world was going to keep her distracted from her mom’s tearful goodbye, or the two days where neither work, nor school, or some stupid camp mattered.

The latina didn't care who else got on the bus after her on the journey or if anyone did at all. Maybe she was the only one because school technically wasn't out yet for a few more days. Maybe she was the only one because whatever camp this was offered a year-round board for people like her who wouldn't so easily be able to go back home, whatever the reason.

It was several hours later at a rest stop somewhere in North Carolina that Luz realized she was not as alone as she had thought.

“It’s funny how dumb you are, thinking you could get her safely to your little camp all by yourself.”

The creature seemed to be a demon, though Luz didn't have the eyes or experience to tell for certain.

He, if the voice echoing in her mind was any indication, was the size of a small dog and looked for the most part like a wolf. The top half of his face appeared as a horned skull snugly attached to his fur, one horn being chipped and broken. Maybe the skull was a part of the little demon. Luz hadn't seen it move, and from how close he was it sure did look like it was a part of his actual body.

His ears were up and pointed forward, back behind where the skull part of his head ended. The two front fangs were massive for his size and if it weren't for the overbite she would be wondering if he ever accidentally cut or stabbed himself with them. Both sets of paws had two claws that were larger than the rest, too. His red on yellow, unblinking eyes glowed an ominous light in the shadow of the sun as he stared right back at her.

“Hellhound!” Luz shouted in both fear and surprise. The quiet of the metal bus made her voice echo, alerting the driver who was just about to return to the road after their break at the rest stop.

“Don't call me a hellhound! I am much better than those dog demon wannabes.”

“Ms. Noceda, stay right where you are. I've got this.” The bus driver stood from his seat, brandishing a shiny metal club that Luz hadn’t noticed before and made his way toward the back.

If it weren't for the fact that this wolf-like demon had a collar with a tag in the shape of a gold coin reading ‘KING’ on it, Luz would have given the bus driver’s command more than a second of consideration.

Because he is the most adorable thing she had ever seen and it set off all of her ‘cute small being must hug, must praise’ alarms inside her head. Her hands reached out to pick him up, but the demon stepped out of her reach with a sharp glare to both her and the driver.

“Oh give it a rest already. I'm not here to hurt the mortal. If I were, I would've done it already. No, I'm here to do the opposite and keep this one's dumb butt alive.”

Luz, predictably, took offense to that, “I'm not dumb.”

“You were two seconds away from calling me cute and trying to hug me. That is  _ dumb _ . Didn't you learn to not approach wild animals in one of your human schools?”

Actually, it was her mom who taught her that. And she had been about to go up to him and ask first, thank you very much.

“But you aren't a...” Her voice betrayed that bit of intelligence though.

“Yeah I'm not a wild animal, but the same logic applies. See something dangerous? You call for help. Or run away. Or barring that, play dead! Dont. Get. Closer to it.”

“I only did that once...” At the time, it had been because the creature she had seen didn't look like the usual monsters that tried to kill her. It had been hurt, too, so she had foolishly thought to help. Luz should have known better. That wasn’t a good day, and her mother did her best to make her remember the lessons she learned from the experience.

Besides, what right did this demon have to lecture her?

“...And what did that get you?” He inquired.

Almost proudly Luz responded, “A new school and some pretty freaky nightmares.”

Not a lie. She had received a few scars to remind her to never try that again. Which is why–

“It almost got you killed, Luz.”

The teen froze. “I never told you my name.”

“Didn't have to. I knew it already. Who else do you think was responsible for you not dying until now?” If half his face wasn’t covered by the bone skull, Luz would’ve seen the grin that showed his teeth. “That's right. Me.”

_ He’s the reason why some of the monsters after her had disappeared before catching her, without a trace?  _ He kept on talking, but Luz was stuck repeating that in her head. He had been the reason why her mom hadn't died when a demon got a little too close to the hospital she worked at? He was the reason she only came out of that ill-thought-out encounter against the injured beast with a few scars on her arms she could easily hide with a long sleeved shirt or jacket?

A jacket that she wasn't wearing at the moment.

“Ms. Noceda?” Looks like she wasn't the only with some deep thoughts. The bus driver was muttering something to himself now but hadn't let down his guard just because of a few words from the little, mostly harmless, demon.

Luz took the opportunity to tune back in to what King was talking about and decided to ask a burning question that was on her mind. Something she needed answered urgently, despite the uncertainty of his honesty. She might go mad if he couldn’t provide a satisfying answer immediately.

Luz cut in, interrupting King in the middle of his sentence: “Do your eyes always glow like that?”

His scary affronted eyes made Luz almost regret interrupting him. Almost.

“...Um? Yes?”

“That's so cool.” That question probably would’ve kept her awake at night for weeks. She’s so glad she asked.

“Were you paying attention to anything I just said?” The real answer was yes, but also no, so Luz just gave a vague hum in response. King looked exasperated at that, but if he apparently knew her so well, then he should expect this from her.

“Mm.”

“Okay, what is it?”

“Hm?”

“What was it that I said?”

“Oh. Don't be gone for more then ten minutes or you're going to come running in case someone needs to be vibe checked. If anyone does need to be vibe checked within ten minutes, scream at the top of my lungs, “Can I get a waffle” or “I have the power of God and anime on my side” depending on how fast I'm about to regret all my life choices.”

Luz nodded to herself with a fake confidence and got up to exit the bus. She should answer her body’s crying out for a bathroom before it became an issue after all. With how things had been in the past the teen wasn't surprised about the time limit. Safety measures. She’d use ‘waffles’ for if she had the time and could complete the second half of that quote. ‘God and anime’ if she didn't have the luxury and needed to buy herself time until help arrived.

It was a perfect way to gauge the amount of danger she finds herself in and no one could convince her otherwise.

“Do you see now why you won't be able to keep this one alive all by yourself, goat man?”

“What was that?” The driver grunted, ready to take off King’s head with his metal bat if he called him ‘goat man’ again.

“How she deals with monsters and demons always going for her throat. It sounds humorous but trust me, she was being serious.”

“You understood what she was saying?” Her memes appeared to be no match for his unassuming humor.

“Unfortunately yes.”

“You're...really not going to–”  _ to eat us? _

“No! I told you. And Luz. I'm trying to keep her the opposite of dead. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to find a new perfect spot for a nap.”


	2. I'm Squidward, She's Squidward, We're Squidward

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Wis? Why’d you stop?” One of the other trainees asked.
> 
> The person staring at her didn’t reply.
> 
> “Park.” The other trainee said more sternly. “What is it?”
> 
> “She looks like you.”
> 
> “Who looks like me?”
> 
> The person, Wis? Park? Gestures in Luz’s direction, prompting their friend to turn around.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big thanks to lilSnuggle who helped me edit both chapters 1 and 2!

It took more time than Luz bothered to keep track of and at least three near misses with one monster or another before they reached the Camp. Camp Halfblood. Luz doesn’t know how they got here in just a handful of days. It would have been shorter, the satyr bus driver apologized, but with avoiding the monsters and stopping every so often along the way for breaks, Luz thought it was fine.

Luz felt bad once she entered the camp and realized she had never learned the man’s name, but King quickly distracted her by climbing up to her shoulder - somehow without puncturing her with his massive claws - and pointing to a sign.

“Chiron is okay I guess. A little too nice if you ask me, but he’ll sit you down for an orientation and then probably ask me to “go fetch” someone to give you a tour. I could do a far better job.” The sign read ‘Big House’ and as Luz got closer to where it was with King rambling in her ear the whole way, she didn’t know what to expect now. A two-story repurposed farmhouse that Luz just knew had seen a couple of centuries at least, yet it was painted and maintained as if it were new.

Luz didn’t even have to knock on the door when they approached. It opened on its own to reveal a man in a topical shirt and shorts, sunglasses over his eyes, and a can of what reads as grape soda in one hand. He looked as if he was just about to step out of the doors Luz was now blocking.

“Oh.” He did not look happy to see Luz there. Or to see King on her shoulder, “Well. Come on in I guess.” He said as he stepped back with a quiet mutter under his breath, “As if there aren't enough brats running around here. And two of  _ hers _ so close to each other?”

Luz gets the feeling she wasn't supposed to have heard that.

She was apprehensive, but she walked inside with King, who was unusually silent after her brief experience with his endless talking, in favor of glaring at the guy who, in walking passing him to get inside, smelled strongly of grapes. Maybe he’s a God of grapes or something. Maybe he specializes in making grape Jell-o. Maybe he has his own drink company. Would there be unlimited grape soda here? Should she ask for a can of what he’s drinking? Maybe King wants one too, she should probably ask for him as well. Hopefully the man in tropical attire made decent grape drinks, and not that weird stuff that didn’t taste like grapes at all and instead tasted like purple. Her mama would probably really like it here...

“Chiron! We’ve got another one.” The man shouted into the doorway of a connected room.

Luz knows she spaced out around that moment, and everything that came later is lost on her. She knows she met Chiron the Centaur who was nice like King claimed he’d be. She knew she watched the orientation video in another room but didn’t absorb any of it. How long had the video been? Ten minutes? An hour? She couldn’t remember. She didn’t recall walking past the front doors of the lobby, and couldn’t remember leaving the dark office room where the orientation was held. Did she ask questions? Was it important? Probably. But she couldn’t even recall sitting down in her chair to watch. There were bits and pieces of the video in her head, but they only further fueled her unanswered questions.

King had left at some point to find somewhere in the Big House to take a nap. At least, that’s what she assumed he said. She couldn’t quite remember hearing him say anything, she was so lost in her own head. By the time she was outside of the building again, one backpack in hand and the other slung over her shoulders, she felt herself coming back to reality.

The brand new orange camp t-shirt over the clothes she was already wearing was definitely a size too big.

Luz was at the point of feeling numb. Emotionally numb, that is, while she was processing all of the new information she’d been given. Ever since she was forced to hug her sobbing mother goodbye just two short days ago she’d been slowly falling into dissociation, and it seemed to have finally caught up with her.

The Greek Gods were real. The deities and pantheons of other similarly old religions were real. Luz was the daughter of one of the Greek gods or goddesses, specifically, because this was a camp especially for kids like her. She is a demigod and that’s why the monsters have been after her practically her whole life. Did her Mami know? Her Mami had said she was a miracle baby, that her godmother had made it so she would be born, so that she would exist.

So did Luz have a father who was a god, or a second mother? She didn't know anymore. She’d thought she understood when the video had been playing, but now she was just confused. Her feet were moving and her eyes and brain were reading the signposts so she knew where to find her tour guide but mentally Luz was still far away. Floating.

That could be why, when she got to the arena where she thinks Chiron said her guide would be, Luz didn’t recall how her feet had gotten her from point a to point b, nor anything regarding details about the guide that might have been said. King was still back at the Big House and going back for him or to ask Chiron what he’d said would make her seem like she was… what-  _ stupid? _ Probably. Someone who couldn’t pay attention and follow simple instructions.

Other people were milling around the stands of the arena, chatting. Some of them were down in the center part some thirty feet away of it with knives and swords. Luz noticed some of them had pointed ears, while others had round ones as she did. Some drew circles in the air, light following in the path of their fingers as literal magic spells were cast before Luz’s very eyes. Some campers were sparring against each other, others were using dummies, others still had set up what appeared to be an obstacle course at one end of the arena and were racing to see who could get the best time going through it. Participants and bystanders were cheering and egging each other on and making bets between each other.

Luz took a minute to sit down and rest at one of the benches closest to the pit. She set her bags down by her feet, avoiding the presumably ancient half-buried purple juice box by her feet, and tried to see who it might’ve been that Chiron had said would show her around. The orientation didn’t give much on what was where in this place. Luz could go exploring on her own but she’d rather not get into trouble on her first day. Her head was still feeling distant, too. If she started wandering she’d probably get lost deep in the forest surrounding the camp before her brain caught up and she realized she even stood from the bench.

She’d rather not give them a reason to kick her out like her schools had.

So Luz resigned herself to watching the group training in the arena. More specifically, she watched one of the magical sparring matches closest to where she sat. There was a person with a green jacket, ripped jeans, a red beanie, wielding a red baseball bat covered in paper like it was a weapon. Beyond them was a person with short hair like her own, glasses, and a long coat. 

The spectacled person had stopped mid-cast, a partial glowing green circle around her finger burning in the early afternoon light. Luz can’t see their eyes, but she thinks they’re staring right at her

  
“Wis? Why’d you stop?” One of the other trainees asked.   
  


The person staring at her didn’t reply.

“Park.” The other trainee said more sternly. “What is it?”

“She looks like you.”

“Who looks like me?”

The person, Wis? Park? Gestures in Luz’s direction, prompting their friend to turn around.

Their friend who did, in fact, look like Luz. The same color to her hair, if only longer and styled differently. Roughly the same skin tone, though that was made clearer as they- she? As she walked up to Luz. Same eye color, as she got close enough for Luz to discern. The face she was looking at was the same one that she saw in the mirror every morning.

“You  _ do _ look like me.” Which was weird all on its own. Luz thought she’d be comfortable with the weird. Excited for it, even. She thought she’d have gotten used to this kind of thing with the monsters. She thought it would be like magic, where other weird things would be just as interesting, just as captivating to her.

But this was weird on a different level than anything Luz was familiar with. This was something like the uncanny valley.

The closer this almost-doppelganger got the faster Luz’s head raced through the possibilities. On one hand, Luz might have a sister! She doesn’t know how it could’ve happened this way because the only parent they’d share would be their god one, right? She doesn’t know how, but the alternative would be that they aren’t related, and something else was responsible for Luz and this other girl to look nearly identical to each other. Right down to the faint glow to her eyes that Luz could see, now that her face was shadowed from the sun.

There wasn’t a fence or railing between Luz and the pit, sitting so close to it. Just a raised chunk of stone, or sandstone, or something to act as a barrier so if she stood, she wouldn’t risk falling over unless pushed. Or pulled.

Beanie Girl threw herself up onto it with ease to use it as a seat, not even bothering with the stairs that were right there next to her that she could have used instead.

“What’s your name, kid?”

“I’m not a kid. I’m fourteen…” The only response to that she got was a single raised eyebrow and a leveled, unimpressed stare, “Luz Noceda. What’s yours?”

“Luna.”

At least Luz now has a name other than calling her Beanie Girl or something similar.

“Chiron said someone here would give me a tour of the camp but I don’t remember who he said to ask or look for, other than that they were here.”

“Luna will be happy to take you.” Wis, the girl who, now that she was closer Luz can’t help but get ‘mad scientist’ vibes from her, spoke up from behind Luna.

It doesn’t help that she had this smug smile and the light from the sun reflected off her glasses so Luz couldn’t see her eyes.

“The hell? Since when?!” Luna twisted around to glare at her friend.

“You’re the one with a brand new sister. Why don’t you show Shortie around?”

“I’m not short.” Is the only thing Luz can think of for a reply back because she wasn’t short and her brain was still recovering from how cool Luna’s friend had looked just then.

“Sure you aren’t. C’mon. Grab your stuff.”

Luna balanced her red bat on her shoulder as she grabbed a thermos of something from Wis before they left the arena. Luz slung one of her two backpacks over her shoulder and carried the other with one hand. Luna sipped at it and made a small noise of disgust, but went to take a second sip anyway. Luz really wanted to know what it was, but before she could ask about it the older girl was already talking.

“So, you’ve already been to the Big House, yeah? Orientation and all that kiddie stuff. You know how to get to the Arena and pretty much know what’s going to go down when we go back.” Luna then pointed to the wooden posts that dotted the dirt path near the several branching paths ahead of them, “If you follow the signs you can get to almost anywhere in camp pretty easily. Up this road to the left is where all the cabins are, we’ll be stopping by there last before dinner. Past the arena are both the armory and the stables- what?”

Luz was staring at her with almost literal stars in her eyes. “There are stables? You have horses here?”

“Pegasi, actually.”

“Pegasi?!” The excited gasp from Luz that ripped through the air could’ve suffocated a whale.

“Geez. Calm down.” Luna took another long sip from that thermos in her hands as she waited for Luz to pull herself together, barely flinching this time at whatever the taste was, “Yes, we’ll be going there. I’m not so cruel as to deprive you of the best thing we’ve got in this damn place.”

Luna spun on her heel and continued up the road by walking backward with ease, not even twitching her head to look over her shoulder once.

She pointed back towards where Luz had come from, “back that way is the strawberry fields. The camp gets most of its money from them. The rest come from  _ undisclosed sources. _ ” Luna grins in a way that makes Luz positively itch to know what she means by that. “And in the event that your brain was too full of mush coming out of the Big House, there’s a Volleyball court behind it to de-stress. We won’t visit there today but sometimes we get that instead of the arena as exercise. The armory we’ll stop by second to last to…  _ hopefully _ pick up a weapon for you. It’s like wands from whatever the hell Harry Potter even is, cause your weapon chooses you.”

The wonderment in Luz’s eyes almost made Luna chuckle. The idea of weapons choosing their wielders always made the newbies excited. “Yeah, if you don’t find one that fits we can figure out what’s close and get the Hephaestus kids to look into it. Anyway. We’re stopping by Arts and Crafts first…”

They had to take a bridge to cross the river that sat near the first training arena where Luz found Luna, and the Arts and Crafts area was right on the other side. It was a small building with a large bricked patio with a wide overhanging roof for protection as people worked outside. There were numerous paint stains dotting the brick ground and wall of the building, with remnants of clay pottery lining the edge of the brick floor. The large windows of the building gave an easy view of the inside, which showed off even more colorful art pieces. Paintings, mobiles, paper mache sculptures, half-sewn and knitted clothing, theater set pieces, even woodwork and soldered metal; it seemed this building had everything Luz could ever dream of!   
  
If Luz listened carefully enough over the sound of gently rushing water, she could still hear the shouts of other campers sparing and running the obstacle course. Some campers were already in the art and crafts area so Luna walked around them while pointing to where all the exciting things were kept and how to access them should Luz hang out here alone. She mentioned where to put art when it’s finished, and also that there were technically no rules about what someone could or couldn’t make.

Luz already knew she was going to love this part of her day the most.

She already had mental plans drawn up to create another anatomically correct griffin before the week was out.

Maybe even with an actual griffin to model?

Luna interrupted her fascinated exploration of the expansive crafts area. “C’mon, mini-me. Amphitheater and climbing wall are up next.”

The amphitheater was nice. There was a group of about five people, older teens maybe, who were singing as an acapella group on the stage in the middle. Others were sitting down writing or talking amongst each other in the stadium-style benches that surrounded the stage in a half-moon. Luz thinks this is for the more musically inclined, or maybe even theatrical enthusiasts. Do they perform plays? She’d love to get involved in something like that. 

The climbing wall was just beyond the theater, closer to the shore. At this point in the tour Luz could hear the waves, even though they weren’t in sight. The wall itself was intimidating. It would be cool even if it had been just a regular, larger scale rock climbing wall, but this one - of course - was different. Dripping down from the top a hot, glowing liquid that mimicked lava would spill out  _ ‘for the extra challenge’ _ .

No, Luna had said further in warning, the wall did not have difficulty settings and while you may not get more than a first-degree burn from it, like a bad sunburn, your clothes will not be so lucky if you don’t get to the top quickly enough. Thankfully, the clothes that the camp kept on hand naturally repaired themselves. Was it magic? Advanced nano technology? Luz had no idea, and she felt a little embarrassed to ask. That was probably another fact she missed during the introduction video.

Luz stared at the wall while Luna was saying this, imagining herself climbing it. Imagining herself getting to the top to see the beach. It sounded almost like fun. Almost, if not for the real threat of perishing in the glowing orange liquid should her foot slip or hands lose their grip. The rock wall will probably stay low on her to-do list for now.

After that was the archery range which sat back across the river, on the other side of the dirt path from the arena, which was both for fighting with weapons like swords and with magic. Luz wasn’t expected to join in on any activities today, instead encouraged to take the time to get settled in and learn her way around. From there, she’d take part in most, if not all, of what there is to do around the camp to find what she’s good at - chores included - and what she enjoys the most.

As Luna guided them up another dirt road deeper into the camp, she tapped the bat she still carried with her to the ground at an angle, making one of the pieces of paper attached at the top glow. As she pulled it back up, a flower grew and bloomed, sprouting straight from the paper stuck to the metal. Luz’s eyes followed the flower as Luna let it hang from her bat that she returned to her shoulder, still glowing as it bounced with the wind. 

“You’ll get your own schedule eventually, but until then it’s probably best you stick with a friend or one of your cabin mates.” Luna said as she led Luz over to the armory and forge.

Nerves were dancing along her arms as they got closer to the tall stone and timber building where Luz would be picking out her weapon.

Hopefully.

If the weapon chose her back, or however that worked.

“What cabin am I going to be staying in?”

“Hermes, for now. Same as me. Neither-... my mom is a “minor” goddess, so she doesn’t have a cabin of her own. Hermes, being a god of travelers, takes in those like me and also the unclaimed kids, like you. It’s… unique in some ways because of that.”

“So could I- um. Could I stick with you then? Until I get my schedule?”

Luna didn’t reply as they continued walking.

Her silence made something twist in Luz’s gut, and she recognized the feeling as regret for asking something obviously off the table of the only person she could consider a companion in this strange new place. She didn’t want Luna to hate her already, not after how kind she was being to Luz.

They soon made it up the slight incline to the building. Luna opened the door to the armory and still had yet to say anything. Luz wondered, as she followed her look-alike inside, if she had said something wrong. If maybe what she had asked had upset the other girl somehow. The uncertainty of Luz’s situation made her head hurt. What if Luna didn’t really want to be giving her this tour, and she was only doing it because she saw how lost Luz looked when she sat down at the arena? What if she already hated Luz for her childish fascinations with the few locations they’d visited so far?

Luna began saying something, but the words weren’t getting through and Luz didn’t want to speak up to ask her to start over and make whatever she’d done, worse. Luna points with her bat towards the door and says something else, about being outside, and Luz just nodded with zero comprehension about what she meant. 

By the time the door closed again and Luna was no longer in the room, there was a clawing panic urging her to speak. But the slamming of the door caused her throat to also close up when she opened her mouth, because of course, Luna didn’t want Luz following her around all day. It was bad enough she was roped into playing tour-guide and babysitting Luz already. She must’ve just not wanted to hurt Luz’s feelings by saying no. That must be it.

And now Luz is facing another panic-inducing situation in this strange too-open room that had just enough light for her to see all of the very sharp, very real weapons around her. It wasn’t the same as seeing Luna’s magic bat. Somehow, even with it being magic and knowing that said bat could probably pack a punch, seeing the collection of swords and knives and spears around her just  _ sitting there _ was a different experience. Even with having seen them being used in the arena, not even a handful of hours earlier. The bows, when she found that section, all looked handcrafted - unique. The knives and swords and spears were all different in what Luz can only assume were for different ways to stab something.

Yet, despite all the incredible possibilities that should’ve been swimming around in her head, all Luz wanted to do was curl up somewhere no one could see or hear her and have a good cry. Get it all out of her system. The past few hours had been incredibly overwhelming and it was starting to weigh down on her. It didn’t feel like there had been a single moment to rest, because if she wasn’t being guided around by someone else, she was stuck lost in her own mind and couldn’t process anything that happened around her. It was starting to be too much.   
  
Actually, it was already too much. But there wasn’t a single safe place to hide. Instead, she was in here with a task she didn’t know how to complete and what felt in the back of her mind like a time limit.

So she paced. She walked around and around, as slow as she dared with the nagging thought of not getting this done quickly enough, not even doing what she’s meant to do to find her weapon.

She spent a while forcing herself to stand in front of a selection of different ornate shields after most of her other options resulted in nothing. As the seconds ticked by Luz felt she had to finally let out some of the emotions building up or else she’d burst.

“Not even inanimate objects want to be around me...”

What had Luna said before she’d gone outside?

“What am I doing wrong? It’s not like they can talk, right? It’s not like I’d be able to hear anything or, or would they just glow? They all do, sort of. Faint gold glow. Maybe they’d just glow brighter. Probably, or I’d just be finally losing my mind...”

She took another few minutes to walk around the entire room again. It was surprisingly big, despite the outward appearance of the building making it seem smaller. Luz had tried touching some of the bows and swords and axes and whatever else she could find, but didn’t have any luck with that approach either.

Luz didn’t know how much time had passed when she threw in the towel. She was near tears for a second time since entering the room and not feeling any better even after running through some verbal encouragement to herself. Readjusting her twin backpacks, the Latina pushed open the door and immediately had to close her eyes against the far too bright light of the sun.

She blinked rapidly, shielding her eyes with one hand so that she could see what’s in front of her. Which, moments later, happened to be Luna.

...She was still there, waiting for her?

Luz let the door close on its own with a heavy thud, concentrating on breathing and not the way it sounded when she did or that she was getting emotional over an inanimate object. Which was stupid. Is stupid.

“Guess you’re more like me than I thought.”

“Huh?”

Luna snorted. Luz looked up at her despite her eyes still adjusting, squinting at the older girl who was clearly trying not to smile.

“Yeah. What? You think I found this beautiful piece of junk in there?” Luna asked, gesturing with her shiny red bat toward the door, now flower free and with a new piece of a paper where the flower one had been.

Yes. That’s exactly what Luz had thought, actually. Luna had told her that’s where she’d find her magic monster-bashing weapon and hadn’t let on that she, herself, had been any different!

Luna must’ve noticed her inability to respond, or maybe her bad mood was showing on her face. Either way, she saved Luz’s dignity and answered for her. “Okay. Uh. Time for those pegasi you were asking about, yeah?”

That’s something Luz can do. A nice distraction from almost breaking down twice in half an hour.

“Okay.”

It took a moment for Luz to wipe her face and reorient herself to where she recalled the direction of the stables were. 

“But you’ve got to tell me how you got that bat, then. How else am I going to find the one weapon to defeat them all?”

“That’s a reference to something, isn’t it? Shi-  _ uh _ . Shoot. What’s the name of it?”

“Wait. You don’t know what Lord of the Rings is? Or the Hobbit?”

“The Lord of the What? Thought there was just the Lord of the Flies…”

“They aren’t related. Wait, you've read that book? No, don't answer that. I'm not letting you steer me off-topic. Tell me about Batty! We can talk about books and how you didn’t even think about the Pokemon catchphrase I was actually referencing later.”

“Okay. Okay. I give.” Luna raised her hand in a placating manner. If Luz listened close enough she might’ve heard the little chuckle under her breath too.   
  
“So. Most half-witchlings have their chosen weapon made out of witchwood. It’s a lot more durable than it sounds, I promise you. My bat can take one he-...  _ heck _ of a beating.” She stumbled over her words as she forced herself not to curse.

“Half-witchlings here make their weapon similar to how a witch over on the isles would carve their staff.” She decided not to elaborate on witches or their traditions, hoping Luz would learn about that on her own time. Even though she could see the questions burning in Luz’s eyes.

“You can ask Wisteria for more details if you want. I don’t know jack-all about staves or what traditions go into making them or what the deal is with carving your animal familiar out of wood. Just don’t badger her if she’s having an off day, kay? Alright, so where was I again?”

“Witchwood weapons.”

“Right. So, we carve our weapons out of that wood. Can paint over it however we like so it looks normal, less like it’s entirely made of wood. Well, that’s why we don’t keep witchwood weapons on hand, right? Cause it’s made by and for the person that carves it. But I’m not… I don’t have the ears or the magic heart tumor thing that gives witches their magic. I can’t do what they do, and none of the weapons in that room “called” to me or whatever nonsense the older kids had said at the time. It was years ago, M-’n’-M, can’t be bothered to remember at this point.”

Luna sighed, wondering if she should be telling this story to Luz. “So at that point, I was kind of desperate. Sure, I was able to just pick up any ol’ axe or sword and give it a swing as good as the next half-blood, but I didn’t have a personal weapon of my own. I was like, eh, roughly five years younger. What are you? Fourteen?” She scratched her head in thought before nodding to herself.

“Yeah, so. Uh.” Luna looked around, pausing long enough for Luz to realize she could see the stables from where they were walking and also that she wasn’t in any rush to get there to see them yet. This was a backstory she was listening to right now! That took precedence over meeting good strong animal friends.

“You were nine.” Luz helpfully inquired.

“Yep.”

“You’ve been coming to this camp since you were nine?”

“Nah. Been here since I was eight. Year-round.”

“I- Okay.” Don’t push it, Luz. Just let her tell you about the fun stuff. Don’t want her to pull away because Luz was too curious for her own good, “So you found your bat already made by someone else?”

“I found it in a dumpster… Outside camp. I ran off. Don’t do that by the way, it’s not worth it. Trust me.” Luna plowed on ahead over the dozen more questions Luz had burning on the back of her tongue that definitely had nothing to do with Luna running away from camp, “Anyway so. I got it out of the dumpster, used the broken halves to fend off a monster while I was out. I could’ve handled it too, but a couple of the older campers were sent to find me and got that final shot in before I could.”

Luna was relaxed, acting like it was no big deal, but Luz was awed anyway. She was also resolutely not thinking about how Luna still probably didn’t want her following her look-alike around or asking too many questions that she didn’t want to answer. Hopefully, she would be able to find someone else in the Hermes cabin that would tolerate her enough for a few days out of the week. Just until she got her own schedule. Just until she found what she was good at.

“That’s so cool.” And then Luna pulled open the door to the stables.

The air in here, of course, smelled in a similar way to a petting zoo, only not really because it was better than that. The inside was spacious, again seemingly bigger on the inside. It was well lit by the windows and lamps that had magic lights in them. Luz would have focused on those lights if it weren’t for the pegasi themselves.

There were, after a count, twenty-four that she could see. All of them had wings, of course, but Luz hadn’t expected the sheer variety. They had a lot more feathers to them, or - at least, the one that Luz immediately ran up to greet did. The horse’s chest and front legs were covered in thick feathers, and it looked like they were also there along the back and mixed in with the mane. Right above the tail were tail feathers, too, and the upper part of the mouth was pointed more in a way similar to a beak.

They were a mix of red and black. A more vibrant color and pattern that she thinks might belong to an actual bird than any horse she’d seen. Cardinal, maybe?

The pegasus huffed a breath in her face that had her giggling and made whatever lingering skulking negativity that clung to her from earlier leave to lick its wounds.

“That one is Bones. He’s pretty easy-going. Can’t fly worth, uh, well. He can’t fly very well. Wings aren’t big enough, see? He helps out with the younger kids and people with a fear of heights.”

Luz didn’t take her eyes off the horse until after Luna finished speaking, at which point she turned to Luna and said, “I have so many questions.” Only to turn her head right back around to continue admiring the pegasus before her. “Do you like it? Helping them?”

The pegasus gently tugged at a bit of her hair with its teeth.

“Hey! I know I’m a snack but I’m not pegasus food!”

Luz could hear Luna whispering something to herself but whatever it was, Luz didn’t catch it.

“I’m going to go say hi to your friends, okay?” And so Luz did, pulling herself away from Bones’ stall to the one directly opposite. That one was Philip and he was mostly tones of mottled brown, with some black mixed in. While these first two were big, the next two pegasi had to be some kind of draft horse; they were so big. Their wings were equally large and if it weren’t for the mind-bending physics behind how big the stables actually were, Luz wouldn’t have believed they could fit in their stalls, let alone the center aisle.

Luna provided a bit of information on each pegasus to the best of her knowledge. Unfortunately, even in the years she’s been here, apparently she’s barely interacted with some of them or paid attention to them before now. That was fine. Luna just had her favorites, that’s all. And she couldn’t be expected to remember everything about all of them, anyway.

Luz hopes her voice wasn’t too loud but she really couldn’t control it, nor did she care in that instant, when she came across one of the pegasi that had a foal with her, “Bebé pájaro caballo! Luna! Luna! Ella tiene un bebé!” Luz didn’t know if there was a word, exactly, for pegasus in Spanish so she mashed bird and horse together and hoped that whichever god made them wouldn’t be offended by that.

“¿También hablas español?”

Woah- Luna knew Spanish too?

“Si! Si! ¿Cómo te enteraste?”

Luz thinks she may have caught Luna a bit off guard. Or maybe the other girl just wasn’t as comfortable speaking Spanish as she was with English. 

Luna shrugged casually, as if finally having another person to speak her second language with after so many years of being the only one at the camp wasn’t a huge deal to her on the inside. “My second mom suggested I learn…. In a note. The same one she used to lead me here. I figured by then that if she thought it would help me, it wouldn’t hurt to at least learn a little? And from that point on I just never really stopped.”

Luz knew that all her teachers expected her to speak and write in English, but there have been times where she’s really tired or just flat out forgot a word in either of her languages but knew it in the other one. She wasn’t allowed to take the Spanish class that her school offered because of it being her first language, and hardly any of the kids taking it had wanted to talk to her anyway. So Luz and her Mami spoke Spanish mainly at home and that had been fine. But did Luna have anyone to practice with, growing up here?

Luna spoke up again before Luz could voice her thoughts, “that’s Cinders, by the way. The mother. The foal hasn’t been named yet, or, well. We haven’t given her a name. She probably already has one in pegasus language but like you, I can’t understand it unfortunately. Would be nice, though.”

Maybe they’ll talk in their other language another time, then.

By the time Luz and Luna left the stables, the sun was well into the other half of the sky, making its descent down to the horizon. They must’ve spent at least four hours walking around the camp grounds. Luz’s back was and legs were more than ready to collapse under the dead weight of her backpacks that she was still carrying.

Luna took half a look at the sky and frowned. “Nearly time for dinner.” She muttered just as a horn was blown somewhere in the distance.

“YES! I’m starving!”

The emotional rollercoaster that had been this day, in particular, had been a bit much for Luz.

They quickly made their way down the dirt road and into the dining hall. Before she knew it, Luz was at a table, her offering scraped into the fire already, with a plate of food that she hadn’t thought about when she’d ordered it. When Luna mentioned something about being able to order anything she wanted she just blurted the first thing that came to mind. Now, she was grateful her mouth knew her stomach so well, even when her brain couldn’t supply any higher thinking in the moment.

This meal was about to be divine, and nothing could stop her from thinking so.

For a drink, Luna plopped down a can of grape soda with a straw already inside. Where she got it, and where she got the four more that she juggled in her arms, Luz was unsure. At this point she wasn’t sure she was allowed to know. Or, if she was, she didn’t think she  _ wanted _ to know, as there was some sort of forbidden feeling with that knowledge as she watched Luna stuff all four cans into whatever hidden pockets she could before sitting down.

Luz was glad to be able to sit down, eat, and get acquainted with the cabin she’d be staying in. Luna told her as they sat down with the rest of the Hermes cabin and Luz kept her bags under the table between her feet, that they could have any food or drink they could think of to ask for. Almost. Grapes, raisins, and of course any and all alcohol were banned. Also, this one kind of canned fish that someone asked for once that made several campers around them pass out from the smell.

Luz wanted to try that mysterious fish for herself. It couldn’t be  _ that _ bad, right?

There was also an offering of a portion of your food that you’re supposed to burn before you eat. It in no way has to be any of the bits you want to eat, so you can sift through and give your leftovers in advance. At least, that’s how Luna worded it.

You offer up a little prayer, something you’d like to say or ask for if you care to, and then you go back to your cabin’s table and eat.

“Hey, Noceda! Didn’t know you had a kid sister. Are you holding out on us?”

Sitting across from them were two green-haired witch demigods with matching outfits, expressions, and pretty much everything else. The only ways Luz could tell, side by side, how they were different were from some subtle differences to their faces, the length of their hair, and their voices. Matching sets of striking golden eyes staring between her and Luna had Luz pinned to her seat.

“Wait-” Luz whipped her head around to look at Luna, suddenly feeling the need to eye her up again as this new bit of information crossed her mind. “-Your last name is Noceda too?” Luz sucked in a dramatic gasp, “ _ are we related?” _

Luna shrugged. “Dunno for sure yet. Could be. Maybe.”

Luz couldn’t tell if the other girl was on board with that idea. If she wanted to be Luz’s sister or not. Yeah, they looked alike, and now Luz knew they shared the same surname. Surely there was a story here! A mystery to solve, a puzzle to put together!

Luz hoped by the end the result was that they were related.

She had always wanted a sibling.

She hoped Luna felt the same way, deep down, even if she outwardly acted like she couldn’t care less.

“C’mon. She looks like a miniature version of you!” The short-haired twin argued.

“Yeah,” His sister added without missing a beat, “Only difference is, one is a certified badass and the other one-”

“ _ Don’t. _ ”

Green Braid let out an exaggerated sigh, sharing a look with her brother at Luna’s monotone cutting her off.

“I wasn’t going to say anything bad.” She whined, “Promise. She’s a cutie! Who could say anything bad to that face?”

Plenty of people, actually. There’s a good reason she never enjoyed school. She loved learning, but never the people she had to learn with.

“Which is also Luna’s face. I mean, look at them.” Short-hair replied, gesturing with a hand back and forth from Luna to Luz.

“Exactly!” The girl responded. “But then, then, if this new kid is actually related to Luna  _ ‘swings both ways with a baseball bat _ ’ Noceda, do you think there’s more of them?”

“More as in more siblings or…?”

“Yes, more siblings, you purple flavored cheese wheel. Unless you happen to think that the Titan brought himself back from undeath just to magic up a whole person.”

“What? Instead of half a person?”

“Oh, you know what I meant.”

“I do know, and I can honestly say I would not mind having more Nocedas around.”

“True, true. If they look anywhere near as cute as Little Moon here, well, I wouldn’t mind one for myself.”

“Don’t you already have a thing for… she’s one of the ones that gets detention for mixing magic… healing girl with the griffin?”

“She’s right over there, keep your voice down. And for your information, Edric, I can have a crush on more than one girl.”

“Wait so you didn’t already ask her out?”

“...No.”

“Do you even know her name?”

“Shut up, Ed.”

Luz was too busy stuffing her face full of the food she’d asked for to really process the compliments being thrown her and Luna’s way as it dissolved into bickering and snark. She didn’t know what half of it was about but if the exasperated stare that Luna gave them was anything to go by, this was going to be a common occurrence that Luz would just have to get used to.

By the time dinner was over, Luz was fidgeting under all the questions she had yet to ask. Folding her arms helped to keep them still but that left all of the bouncing energy freshly given to her by the food she just ate to go to her feet - and her brain, hence the fidgeting, hence the urge to move or do something with it. Writing would help, honestly, but who has time for that when she’s seeing the cabins that everyone stays in?

As she quickly discovered during the tour of the cabins, Zeus and Hera’s weren’t in use. Neither was Poseidon’s. Hades didn’t have a cabin, which, rude. Luz would need to see if asking for him to get one, even an honorary one like his brothers, would get a smite sent her way. Apollo’s was very bright and gold and Luna was very dramatic in saying that she needed sunglasses to be able to look anywhere near it. Artemis’s was also honorary, but her Hunters sometimes stopped by and used it.

The Hermes cabin though? It was like the Tardis in there. The second Luz stepped foot inside she knew that there was no way it could be as big as this on the outside.

Luna led her through the rows of bunk beds and drawers and chests, pointing to the lift that went up two more stories that could be operated manually in an emergency. Luz doesn’t know what counts as an emergency around here.

Luna went on a tangent after that because there used to be ladders in here instead and seriously, Luz, could you imagine that? Someone up on Olympus had a fit about it or just casually proposed some changes, not even a year after Luna got here because of: one camper who had been deathly scared of heights if there wasn’t some sense of safety or stability, one camper who had their bunk on the second floor and broke their leg somehow and couldn’t get up and down the ladder for the longest time even with nectar and ambrosia speeding up the healing process, and a third camper who just straight up was in a wheelchair. After that third, and final, straw someone saw fit to give them an all-access way to get between floors.

Luz could picture everyone in the cabin cheering over it.

Luna was up on the third floor with a bunch of other witchling demigods and a few human ones who had minor gods and goddesses for parents. Most all of them up there were claimed, but without a proper cabin for their godly parents they were stuck here.

“Luckily for you,” Luna said as they came up to a bunk bed that had pieces of paper on the posts with circled symbols like the ones on her bat. “No one is in the bottom bunk, here. Could trade you, if you want the top one bad enough but—”

“I’ll take the bottom bunk.”

No one was up here on the third floor at the moment.

Everyone was cleaning up or going out to the beach for a big bonfire sing-a-long that Luz would love to join but this felt more important than that. There would, apparently, be songs and bonfires every night. She could just go tomorrow with everyone else.

Luz pulled out one of the drawers that had no clothes in it, currently, and opened up one of her two backpacks to dump the few outfits she brought with her into it. The other one was dumped onto the bed itself, soon followed by Luz in order to stretch out and move and get the small rush of energy she has out of her system. She’s tired. She’s supposed to be tired, at least. But right now the only thing sleepy were her eyes.

“Uh. Cool. Right then. You’re free to go out to the bonfire tonight but I wouldn’t blame you for wanting to get comfortable and crash before the others file in.” By the end of what she was saying, Luna was mumbling and it was hard for Luz to hear her as she went through her other backpack. There was a nightstand where she placed a picture of her Mami, the nightstand drawer where she placed the one Azura book she brought with her, her phone, its charger, and a bunch of small notebooks, notepads, pens, and pencils to write and draw with. Toothbrush, toothpaste, brush, all her hygiene supplies were accounted for, too. Good. She hadn’t missed anything while packing.

At the bottom of the bag, tucked away there so Luz almost passed right over it, was a folded piece of paper.

Bringing it out and unfolding it, Luz saw that it was from her Mami to her, and that was as far as she could get before she had to stop and put it back where it had been, shoving both her bags under her bed.

She stubbornly ignored the lump in her throat, shoving it and all the thoughts and emotions that sprang up into her eyes in liquid form down as far as she could. Luna threw her a questioning look but Luz’s only response was to get up, get ready for bed herself, and hope the older girl wouldn’t say anything about how measured her breathing was. She would read the note later.

All the energy she had fled in an instant as her head hit the pillow. It didn’t seem to be enough, though, but she was too tired to do anything about it. Sleep evaded her for most of the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a discord link  
> https://discord.gg/g7RwF7BVpb  
> To the Owl House themed server where you can yell at me (and my friends) about Owl House things. Not just this fic, or my other one, or the one me and my friends have shared custody over.

**Author's Note:**

> Give the poor background satyr a hug. He’s just trying his best.


End file.
